Minnesota Wild: Mikael Granlund back in the lineup

Mikael Granlund can't remember if he had ever been a healthy scratch before.

The rookie from Finland was inserted back into the Minnesota Wild lineup against the Nashville Predators on Saturday, Feb. 9, after he was benched for a game by coach Mike Yeo.

Granlund watched the Wild's 4-1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks from upstairs.

"That's not a place you want to be," he said. "You want to be out on the ice. I'm just a young guy, and that's what happens sometimes. I think sometimes it's good to watch the games and learn something.

"You want to do things better and harder."

Yeo was heartened by Granlund's response; the 20-year-old forward came back strong in practice Friday at St. Thomas Ice Arena.

"He was a star out there," Yeo said. "It's really impressive. There's no sense of entitlement with this kid, how hard he works and how he holds himself accountable. The guy's out of the lineup for a game and he doesn't sulk about it; he does extra, he skates extra.

"I've been around long enough to know that players who do that kind of stuff and have that kind of attitude have success."

Yeo put Granlund at center between Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi, figuring both could prosper from Granlund's playmaking.

"They are two great players; they can score and they can make plays, so I think it's going to be a good game for us," Granlund said.